Profile – Bo Mancao

Combining the deepest appreciation for scuba, imagery and Eco tourism, Bo is iconic in the South East asian dive industry.

By taking a glimpse at his work, experience, genuine hospitality and island charm, it’s clear he is one of the one of the top level dive travel and U/W photography influencers.

Born into a family of divers in Cebu, an island in the Philippine archipelago,it came naturally that he learned to swim, spearfish and scuba dive at an early age. His first memories were of the beach and the ocean, the spell of the sea was cast. Diving and travel has since been hard wired into his DNA.

After his university days, He pursued a career in Information Technology that led him to work across three continents ,mostly land locked, over several years. Realising the that he could no longer forsake the call of the islands, he gave up his profession in technology. In 2012, he worked towards to his second coming to the diving world with a renewed commitment to ocean conservation and an underwater camera.

He has since extensively revisited the dive sites from his youth and is continuing to explore new and more remote destinations. With over 10,000 hours of underwater time, his dive and photography knowledge now spans from the all over Philippine waters to other Asian countries,like South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia, Micronesia in the Pacific and The Channel Islands in the US West Coast. He has also been diving in the Maldives and Australia.

Bo’s international award winning underwater photography and articles have been printed on multiple travel and diving publications, and books on marine conservation. His most recent work has been featured in dive magazines like Buceadores in Spain, Scubadiver Korea, Asian Diver in Singapore, EZDIVE in China and Scubadiver Australasia. The Philippine Department of Tourism has been using his images in various international advertising campaigns and dive expos around the world. He hopes to capture unique images and footage that will inspire more people to take up scuba, appreciate what lies beneath the ocean and in turn help safeguard the planet’s marine treasures.

He is frequently commissioned to take U/W video for corporate and conservation clients both in his local, Philippines and abroad. Aside from his ocean endeavours Bo takes time to speak at events for diving and marine conservation, and he conducts workshops to promote eco friendly scuba and underwater imagery.

He founded The Dive Local Network, a scuba and adventure tours organisation that showcases the Philippines’ best dive destinations at the same time, strives to empower the island born dive guides and promote marine awareness. Bo also sits on the board of Project Sharklink, a non profit organisation geared towards elevating sustainability between the rare thresher sharks and the island community of Malapascua. Since its inception, Project Sharklink has garnered international recognition and was awarded best conservation effort by the Asian tourism forum.

Bo also cruises Philippine waters on board Solitude one, a true ocean luxury live aboard designed with the serious scuba diver and u/w photographer in mind. The Solitude One traverses from the island nation of Palau to the Philippines every 6 months and is constantly doing expeditions and exploring new and exciting dive destinations.

Connect with Bo Mancao on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms for updates on his latest adventures and endeavours.